Pregnancy is a very special time which gives you 9 months to come to terms with the fact that there is a precious life growing inside of you who will soon become a large part or your life. This is a privilege for you as an expectant parent to enjoy! Discuss your hopes, dreams and fears with your partner and travel the exciting road of parenthood together.

Bumps & Bundles Of Joy's antenatal classes will aid in providing a safe environment and help facilitate your journey. They will help enlighten you on the reality of childbirth and parenting, enabling you to cope better with this life changing event. In addition, providing you with the necessary information to help take away the fear of the unknown and help you anticipate what is to be expected. Preparing well for child birth equips you to come out feeling great about this special experience! The memories of having your baby will stay with you for the rest of your life. Make them Beautiful!

Guidance and education on care of yourself and your new-born. Before you become a parent, you have no idea of the intense love that you will feel for that little person who completely depends on you for health and happiness. You are determined to do everything right, yet you have endless doubts and questions not forgetting the changes you are experiencing as a parent. Relax...you do not have to do it alone! Postnatal clinic visits are aimed at guiding and equipping you with those first few demanding weeks, helping you to enjoy your baby and parenthood. During the consultation we cover concerns you may have as a new parent including your own wellbeing as partners in this new journey of parenthood.

Breastfeeding and care of yourself, the lactating mum is also important. Breastfeeding your baby is the most normal and natural way to feed all babies. While breast feeding may not seem the right choice for every parent, it is the best choice for every baby. Breast feeding is an instinctive behaviour for babies. Babies are born to breastfeed and have been divinely designed this way, it is the mom who needs to learn how to breastfeed. This will become one of the most exhilarating and rewarding experiences of your life. Breastfeeding support helps facilitate and guide this amazing bonding experience with your baby that only a mother can have.

As parents we strive to do what is best for our children. After baby is born we do all that we can to ensure a safe, secure environment, for example the use of car seats while driving and installing special gates in our home to help prevent injury. Did you know that there is also another very effective way that we can protect our children? That is to make sure they are vaccinated. Immunization can save a child’s life. Advances in medical science and vaccinology have allowed for our children to now be protected against many diseases.

Diseases that once killed thousands of children or left severe after effects and disability have either been eliminated or close to eradicating because of availability of safe and effective vaccines. While vaccination does cause some discomfort for the child like pain, redness or tenderness at the site of injection, this is small in comparison to the effect and discomfort of the actual disease. Ensuring that you and your child are fully immunized not only protects your family but also helps prevent spread of disease to other loved ones and friends especially those more vulnerable like the elderly, infants to young to be vaccinated or terminally ill individuals. Immunisation saves lives!
To find out more about the vaccination programme contact your Clinic Sister.

As your baby grows he or she develops new skills every day.
It is very important for baby’s growth and development to be monitored closely during the first few months of life to ensure that baby is healthy and growth is within normal parameters.

During clinic visits growth is assessed and plotted by the Sister on the road to health chart. This tool allows healthcare providers not only to track normal growth progress but also to see if baby is getting the correct amount of nutrition. Developmental is assessed and allows for detection of any delays in milestones which may be due to underlying conditions or illnesses. Early detection of problems allows for early intervention. Regular growth and development checks also give parents reassurance that everything is on tract and that they are doing a good job.

Staying healthy should be on top of your priority list as a parent.
Keeping yourself fit and healthy will be of great benefit to you in terms of the energy required for raising a child. A wellness check should be done at least once a year for every individual. You can schedule a wellness visit with your Clinic Sister to get an overview of your health and wellbeing. By doing so we are able to identify areas that may need improvement for example your diet, lifestyle or general health. These wellness check tools also aid in early detection of illness allowing for early intervention, referral or treatment that you may need.

Primary wellness screening tests that can be done are: blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, weight, height, body mass index, HIV and urinalysis tests. At the end of the examination you are provided with your results, educated appropriately and given a written plan of preventative care and advice on how to care for your health. As motivation most medical aid providers have rewards programmes in place for annual wellness screening.

Many adults get sick and even hospitalised every year for diseases that can be prevented. Getting vaccinated can help you to stay healthy and take less days off work, but more importantly it is a way to indirectly protect your children and other individuals who are vulnerable to disease. You are better able to care for your family when you are healthy. Protection from childhood vaccines where’s off over time and as adults we need to have booster vaccines in order to stay protected against certain diseases.

All adults need the following booster vaccines:

• Influenza – Annually
• Tdap – (Tetanus, Diphtheria and Accellular Pertussis) – every 10-15 years

Other vaccines may be recommended by your Clinic Sister based on your career, lifestyle and risk profiles. Vaccination is one of the most convenient and safest preventive care measures available.